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The Central African nation has described the European Union's ongoing minerals deal with Rwanda as demonstrating "clear hypocrisy" while enforcing significantly wider restrictions in response to the Ukraine conflict.

Government Sharp Rebuke

Thérèse Kayikwamba Wagner, the DRC's top diplomat, called for the EU to impose far more severe sanctions against Rwanda, which has been accused of fueling the violence in DRC's eastern territories.

"This shows evident hypocrisy – I want to be productive here – that has us questioning and interested about comprehending why the EU again struggles so much to enact sanctions," she declared.

Conflict Resolution Background

The DRC and Rwanda agreed to a conflict resolution in June, facilitated by the US and Qatar, designed to resolve the protracted dispute.

However, fatal assaults on ordinary citizens have continued and a target date to reach a comprehensive peace agreement was not met in August.

International Findings

Last year, a international assessment team reported that up to 4,000 Rwandan troops were operating with the M23 insurgent faction and that the Rwandan military was in "de facto control of M23 operations."

Rwanda has continually refuted backing M23 and claims its forces act in self-protection.

Presidential Appeal

The DRC president, Félix Tshisekedi, recently urged his Rwandan counterpart, Paul Kagame, to end assistance to armed groups in the DRC during a international conference attended by both leaders.

"This demands you to instruct the M23 troops assisted by your country to halt this deterioration, which has already caused enough fatalities," the leader emphasized.

European Measures

The EU has enacted measures targeting 32 individuals and two entities – a militant group and a Rwandan precious metals processor handling unauthorized sources of the metal – for their participation in intensifying the conflict.

Despite these conclusions of rights violations by the Rwandan army in the DRC, the EU executive has resisted calls to cancel a 2024 mining agreement with Kigali.

Mineral Issues

Wagner labeled the partnership with Rwanda as "lacking all legitimacy in a context where it has been verified that Rwanda has been illegally extracting Congolese resources" extracted under harsh circumstances of forced labour, including children.

The United States and various countries have expressed alarm about unauthorized transactions in mineral resources in eastern Congo, extracted via forced labour, then smuggled to Rwanda for international trade to finance rebel organizations.

Regional Emergency

The violence in DRC's eastern territories remains one of the world's gravest emergency situations, with exceeding 7.8 million people internally displaced in the region and 28 million experiencing hunger issues, including 4 million at crisis conditions, according to UN assessments.

Global Involvement

As the DRC's top representative, Wagner approved the deal with Rwanda at the White House in June, which also attempts to give the United States enhanced entry to DRC minerals.

She stated that the US remains engaged in the diplomatic negotiations and dismissed claims that primary interest was the DRC's significant natural resources.

International Collaboration

The EU leader, Ursula von der Leyen, commenced a summit by declaring that the EU wanted "partnerships based on shared objectives and acknowledging autonomy."

She highlighted the Lobito corridor – transportation infrastructure transport links – linking the mining regions of the DRC and Zambia to Angola's Atlantic coast.

Wagner admitted that the EU and DRC had a solid basis in the Lobito project, but "significant aspects has been overshadowed by the conflict in eastern DRC."